The proportion of Europeans planning to go away this summer is at record low (58%), compared with two thirds (66%) in 2011. In Britain this effect is even starker, with just half planning on taking a summer break (51%).
Of those who will be holidaying this summer, 41% plan just one break, whilst 17% will be going away on multiple occasions (down eight percentage points from 2011)
Holidays are also becoming shorter in length; the proportion of fortnight-long holidays has fallen to its lowest point (37%) and we see a corresponding increase in one week holidays (now also at 37%).
Climate (45%), rather than budget (36%), is considered the most important factor affecting the planning of the British holidaymaker; whilst on a pan-European scale, budget is the crucial factor (44%).
Eight in ten (79%) Europeans will be staying in Europe for their holidays and nearly half (48%) will be holidaying in their own country. This figure is somewhat lower in Britain, where just over a quarter (27%) will be remaining in Great Britain for their holidays this summer.
Three quarters of those taking a holiday say they are only willing to make ‘slight savings’ (74%) and the average budget that Europeans will spend on their summer holidays is only €20 down on 2011 at €2,125. Germans will be the biggest spenders with their average budget up 10 percentage points to €2,472, whilst the Italians have cut their budgets to €1,690, down 25 percentage points from 2011.
Technical Note
The Ipsos survey for
Europ-Assistance offers insight into the holidays plans and priorities of Europeans over the summer. It covers seven countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Austria) and a total of 3,523 people were interviewed (500+ interviews being conducted in each country). The survey was conducted via a
face to face, in home survey between February 13th and March 26th 2012.